'''Sir Arthur William Currie''' was a military leader for Canada in World War I and "is generally considered to be among the most capable commanders of the Western Front, and one of the finest commanders in Canadian military history."

'''Sir Arthur William Currie''' was a military leader for Canada in World War I and "is generally considered to be among the most capable commanders of the Western Front, and one of the finest commanders in Canadian military history."

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Given that [[Michael Currie]] and Sir Arthur share the same family name, Michael sometimes is posed the question, are the two related?

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Given that [[Michael Currie]] and Sir Arthur share the same family name, Michael sometimes is posed the question: are he and Sir Arthur related?

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'''Short answer - no.'''

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'''The short answer is no.'''

Michael's great-great-grandfather [[John Currie]] arrived in Canada on 8 June 1883 from Scotland.

Michael's great-great-grandfather [[John Currie]] arrived in Canada on 8 June 1883 from Scotland.

Latest revision as of 18:31, 12 June 2019

Arthur Currie, June 1917

Sir Arthur William Currie was a military leader for Canada in World War I and "is generally considered to be among the most capable commanders of the Western Front, and one of the finest commanders in Canadian military history."

Given that Michael Currie and Sir Arthur share the same family name, Michael sometimes is posed the question: are he and Sir Arthur related?

The short answer is no.

Michael's great-great-grandfather John Currie arrived in Canada on 8 June 1883 from Scotland.

Sir Arthur's grandfather John Corrigan fled religious strife in Ireland by emigrating to Canada in 1838, converting from Catholicism to Methodism, and changing his name to "Curry". (Arthur changed the spelling of his last name from "Curry" to "Currie" at age 22 in 1897.)

John Corrigan settled in Middlesex, Ontario upon arriving in Canada, and his children and grandchildren mostly remained there. Michael's mother's father's father's family was from that area, so it's possible there is some other connection, but not via the last name.

More details

Michael's last name originates from John Currie, a Scot born in Galashiels, Scotland. His family business was operating textile machinery, and so he immigrated to Canada, arriving 8 June 1883, to work the wollen mills of Almonte, Ontario. His youngest son Alex settled in Winnipeg, and Alex's son Jack settled in Thunder Bay. Jack's son Ron remained in Thunder Bay, and had Michael.

Arthur Currie was born to William Garner Curry and Jane Patterson on 5 December 1875 at farm near the hamlet of Napperton, Ontario, just west of Strathroy. He was the third in a family of eight children and grew up on the homestead of his paternal grandparents, John Corrigan and Jane Garner. Currie's grandparents had emigrated from Ireland in 1838 to escape religious strife, and upon their arrival in Canada they had converted from Catholicism and Anglicanism to Methodism, changing the family name from Corrigan to Curry. Arthur Currie modified the spelling of his surname from Curry to Currie in 1897.

Middlesex possibilities

Because John Corrigan settled in Strathroy-Caradoc, in Middlesex county, it's possible that some of his descendants married into the other side of Michael's family, via William Newman, who also lived in Middlesex. William Newman's wife was Mary Hillier - was she the grandchild of John Corrigan? It seems no. However, it's possible that the Newman and Hillier families interacted with the "Curry" family while they lived in the same rural community of Middlesex in the decades from 1838 to when Currie left for Victoria, BC in May 1894, and when William Newman left for Winnipeg in 1906.

1838 - John and his wife emigrate from Ireland to escape religious strife, and upon their arrival in Canada they had converted from Catholicism and Anglicanism to Methodism, changing the family name from Corrigan to Curry.